


What does the Fox say?

by kristsune



Series: Clone Colony au [5]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Don't mind the title, M/M, but ended up a bit more intense there, but it is there throughout the fic, but not because he is dumb, but still pretty fluffy on either end, everyone knows except for fives, just literally never thought it, so im keeping it as the relationship, sometimes i think im clever, the fives/echo isn't the main focus of this, this was supposed to be all fluf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 16:10:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7852036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristsune/pseuds/kristsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fives keeps receiving mystery flowers. This is how he figures out who they are from, and what he does about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What does the Fox say?

**Author's Note:**

> Kauri belongs to the wonderful [kaminobat](http://kaminoanbat.tumblr.com/).  
> The majority of the flower meanings were found [here](http://www.victorianbazaar.com/meanings.html). I may have found one or two elsewhere, but I think they were found here as well. Very useful if anyone needs it!  
> Please visit me at [tumblr](http://kristsune.tumblr.com/)!

Fives opened the front door to see who knocked, but there was no one there. He looked down to see a bouquet of flowers. 

“Echo, babe, did you have Hevy drop off flowers?” Fives called as he brought them inside.

“No, _cyare_. Did you get another bouquet?” Echo asked, as he walked into the room.

“Yeah. I mean, everyone knows we’re married right? Who keeps sending these?” 

Echo looked closely at the most recent arrangement Fives put on the counter. 

“Huh.” Echo mused.

“Huh, what, babe?”

“Have you ever thought that someone is trying to send you a message?” Echo asked.

“That they want to get in my pants?”

Echo rolled his eyes, “ _Five’ika_ , dear, flowers can relay a multitude of different meanings. There is even an entire language dedicated to it.” Echo paused, and slow smile spread across his face, “In fact, I think Hevy is rather well versed in it.”

“Yeah? You think he could help me figure this out?” Fives asked.

Echo was still smiling, “I do. Come on, I was headed over that way anyway. I was going to pick up some vegetables to bring to Kauri’s rabbits.” 

“Aww, you’re visiting Kauri? Can I come? Those rabbits the softest things I’ve ever felt.” 

“After you are done with Hevy, stop by. It will give me enough time to warn him you’re coming.” Fives frowned at that. “Don’t give me that face. You know he doesn’t do well with surprise visitors.”

“Fine. Fair enough.” Fives agreed as he picked up the floral arrangement to bring to Hevy.

\--------

After Hevy sent Echo off with a basket of veggies he sat down to look at the bouquet. 

“Well first off, this is really well done. It’s a lovely arrangement.” Hevy said while gently poking at the variety of flowers.

Fives rolled his eyes, “Yes, it’s very pretty, but what does it mean?”

“Well, these purple ones here? They are hyacinth, they mean ‘I am sorry, please forgive me.’ and the both the peonies and deep red roses mean ‘shame’. The small white ones are asphodel and mean, ‘my regrets follow you to the grave’. These over here are gladioli and mean ‘I am sincere’. So, basically, someone is trying really hard to apologize for hurting you.”

“Wait, what?” Fives made an incredulous face, “No one has hurt me. I’m fine.”

Hevy sighed, “They are probably trying to apologize for something they did in the past _di’kut_. They obviously feel that they need forgiveness for something they did, which only you can give them.”

Fives still had a look of complete confusion on his face. “Why would they send me flowers though?”

Hevy’s face softened, “Probably because they are afraid you will say no.”

Fives looked thoughtful, “Huh. Thanks Hevy.”

\-------

Fives and Echo were walking home from Kauri’s, when Fives brought up the thought from Hevy.

“It certainly seems the most likely option.” Echo said, while picking errant rabbit hairs off his shirt. 

“But I still can’t figure out who it is. I honestly can’t think of anyone who has seriously hurt me.” Fives griped. 

Echo finally looked over at Fives, “Really? No one? There was absolutely no one that had done you any harm, say.. During the end of the war, before you found out about the biochips. You were on the run they may have shot at you…” 

“Fox?” Fives asked hesitantly and looked at Echo, “Fox has no reason to think he needs my forgiveness. He was doing what needed to be done. I needed to be taken down. He did that _without killing me_. There is nothing to forgive. I was still able to convince Kenobi and Shaak Ti about the biochips. We all survived because Fox made the right call.”

Echo gently grabbed Fives hand and twined their fingers together, “I know _cyar’ika_ , but Fox might see it differently than you.”

Fives squeezed Echo’s hand. “I’ll just have to do something about that then, won’t I?”

Echo smiled back and they walked the rest of the way home in a comfortable silence.

\-------

Fives was waiting impatiently for the door in front of him to open. When it did he was surprised to find Ponds looking back at him.

Fives raised an eyebrow at him, “When did you move in?”

Ponds rolled his eyes and yelled, “Vod, it’s for you!” He pointed at Fives and said sternly. “You. Be nice.”

“When am I ever not nice?” Fives complained. Ponds just stared for an extra moment and walked away.

Fives was just left staring at an open doorway wondering what the kriff just happened when Fox stepped up and visibly paled. 

“F-Fives, w-what are you doing here?” Fox stuttered out.

Fives gave his best reassuring smile. “I just want to talk, but not on your doorstep. Could I come in?”

“Echo told you didn’t he.” It sounded like an accusation rather than a question.

“What? No. Told me what?”

“Hevy then. I knew I shouldn’t have even bothered.” Fox was starting to sweat, and looked to be shaking.

“Hey, hey, easy Fox. Everything is fine. It’s okay. Could, could we just talk please? I promise I’m not mad.” Fives put out his hand to steady Fox, but stopped shy of touching him. He was afraid of what Fox’s reaction might be.

Fox took a deep breath and attempted to pull himself together, “Yeah, Yeah. Okay. Come in.”

Fives followed Fox in, and they sat across from each other in the main room. 

Fox swallowed, “So, you got the flowers?”

Fives nodded, “Yeah, I got them. They’re beautiful. Jesse takes pictures of each one for me.”

“Hevy does good work.”

There was an awkward pause. Fox looked like he wanted to be anywhere but sitting across from Fives. He was looking down at floor in between them.

He took a shaky breath, “I am so sorry.”

“You honestly have nothing to be-”

“I shot you.” Fox interrupted. “I had orders to take you down, and I shot you. You. You who figured it all out. Found out what was wrong. You saved us all, and I shot you for it.” Fox started shaking again.

“Don’t you see? Yes, you shot me,” Fives pulled down the top of his t-shirt to reveal an old blaster scar in his shoulder, “but you took the non-lethal shot. You were following orders, but you took me down _without killing me_. That choice is what saved us all. You could have easily taken the chest shot, and taken me out for good, but you didn’t.”

“But I wanted to!” Fox shouted. “I wanted to take that shot, ‘Good soldiers follow orders’ was rattling around my skull and I wanted to take it!” He was breathing heavily, and had tears falling freely.

Fives sat in shock. He had no idea anyone else’s chip had misfired early. Tup’s was the only case that was recorded. 

“You heard ‘Good soldiers follow orders’, and you fought it?” 

Fox looked at Fives, “What?”

“You said you heard that ‘rattling around your skull’ you heard that exact phrase?”

“Yeah, the entire march to intercept you. I couldn’t make it stop.” Fox’s breathing started to slow.

“That’s incredible. You fought the biochip. That is the exact phrase Tup repeated over and over when his chip was activated. Your chip was activated, and you fought it. Those thoughts were not your own. The chip was driving you to kill me and _you fought back_.”

A look of pure relief took over Fox’s face, and he started crying in earnest. Fives moved to his side and pulled him into his arms and let Fox cry. Ponds came in after a while and sat on Fox’s other side and rubbed his back. 

Fives heard Fox saying quietly over and over, “Thank you, thank you.”

\--------

Fives opened the door to find another bouquet on the ground. 

“Echo! Babe! Did you get a bouquet from Hevy?”

“No _Fiv’ika_ , I didn’t.” Echo replied as he walked into the main room, where Fives brought the flowers.

Echo took one look at the arrangement and smiled. “I think it’s another one from Fox.”

“How do you know?”

“Well these are dwarf daffodils are for regard and respect, the canterbury bells are for gratitude, the lunaria is for sincerity, the milkvetch is a wonderful touch with ‘your presence softens my pain’ and these oak leaves down here are for bravery.”

Fives looked at Echo with a look of dawning realization, “So that’s what he meant.”

Echo looked up, “Uhh, what?”

“Fox said, ‘Echo told you’ when I went to him. You knew all along didn’t you!?”

Echo made a face, “Well, I have been spending a lot of time with Hevy in his gardens. Besides, if I just told you, you never would have learned anything.”

“Never learned anything? Oh, alright I see how it is. Get over here and I’ll learn you something real good.”

Echo yelped as Fives hefted him over his shoulder and carried him to the bedroom.

Echo learned more than he expected that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a  
>  _cyare_ \- beloved  
>  _cyar'ika_ \- darling/sweetheart  
>  _di'kut_ \- jerk/moron


End file.
